When a hurricane is fast approaching a coastal region, a lot of people scramble to cover the windows of their homes with plywood. While doing so may help to prevent high winds and airborne debris from breaking the windows and causing flooding in the residence, there are other strategies to consider. One popular idea is to protect your windows with hurricane shutters — something that you'll want to do soon after you buy a home near the water, rather than waiting until there's a storm in the forecast. Here are three reasons why hurricane shutters are better than wood.

No Supply Issues

It's easy to find a company that specializes in hurricane shutters, visit to choose some appropriate products for your home, and then schedule their installation. People who decide to cover their windows with wood as a storm approaches often face supply issues. For example, home supply stores can quickly run out of wood at these times as numerous local residents buy it up. This means that you could visit a store with the hope of buying wood to protect your home, only to find that none is available. When you get hurricane shelters in advance, you won't have this worry.

Better Barrier

There's little question that hurricane shutters can be a better barrier against a storm than using wood. When you buy hurricane shelters, an experienced installer will mount them properly to ensure that they withstand high winds. If you were to use wood for this purpose, it's possible that you might not install it very well. If the wood were to lift away from the window during a storm, your home would be susceptible to significant damage.

No Damage

People who use wood in advance of storms will typically take the wood down after the storm clears. Upon doing so, there will be a number of nail and screw holes in the siding around their windows. Not only are these marks an eyesore, but they can also allow water to slowly get behind the siding and eventually cause rot in the walls. This isn't a worry that you'll have when you use proper hurricane shutters. Because these shutters will remain in place after installation (although you'll keep them in an open position for the majority of the time), there won't be exposed holes in the side of your home. Contact a local hurricane shutter company to buy this product for your home.